The AGM-88 HARM is a modern American air-to-ground missile. Its first prototypes appeared in the early 1980s, and mass production began in 1984/1985 and is still ongoing. The AGM-88 HARM is a solid fuel-powered missile with a range of up to 48 kilometers, capable of carrying a warhead weighing 68 kg, with a total curb weight of 360 kg.
The AGM-88 HARM missile was designed to replace the AGM-45 and AGM-78 missiles in the line. It was developed by Texas Instruments (now part of the Raytheon concern), and its main task is to destroy the enemy's radar stations and air defense systems. The AGM-88 HARM missile is in fact a fire-and-forgot missile - it has a warhead that guides the missile to the source of the radar beam. It is sensitive enough to attack enemy radars from the sides or behind their position. of this type are used by many American aircraft, including: F / A-18 C / D Hornet, EB-6A Prowler or F-16 C / D Fighting Falcon. Missiles of this type were first used during the US Air Force attack on targets in Libya in 1986. They were also used in combat, e.g. during the Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991 and during the operation in Iraq in 2003. The AGM-88 HARM missiles are also used by many other countries outside the USA, for example: Australia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Germany and Turkey.
The AGM-78 Standard ARM was an American class air-to-ground missile from the Cold War period. Its first prototypes appeared in the mid-1960s, and mass production continued in 1967-1976, ending with the production of over 3,000 missiles of this type. The AGM-78 Standard ARM was a solid fuel-powered missile with a range of up to 90 kilometers, capable of carrying a warhead weighing 100 kg, with a total curb weight - depending on the version - from 620 to 815 kg.
The AGM-78 Standard missile was developed to complement and later replace the AGM-45 Shrike missile in the line. It was developed by the General Dynamics concern, and its main task was to destroy the enemy's radar stations and air defense systems. In order to shorten the work time, the manufacturer decided to base the AGM-78 design on the already produced RIM-66. Ultimately, a missile was created that significantly exceeded the AGM-45 in terms of accuracy, range and reliability. However, it was also several times more expensive to produce, which meant that both missiles (ie AGM-78 and AGM-45) remained in line simultaneously for some time. Several versions of this missile appeared in the course of serial production, the most widely used was the AGM-78B version, which had a tracking system capable of detecting radars operating in different frequency bands, and a very simple memory system that allowed to track the enemy radar after it stopped sending its beam . The AGM-78 missiles were used extensively during the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975) and used primarily by the F-105 F / G Thunderchief, F-4 G Phantom II and A-6 B / E Intruder aircraft. The AGM-78 missiles were eventually replaced in the 1980s by the AGM-88 HARM missiles.
GBU-16 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-16 is capable of carrying explosives (H-6) weighing up to 202 kg with a total empty weight of 589 kg.
The GBU-16 Paveway is manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional, unguided Mk. 83 weighing 454 kilograms. Modernization of the Mk. 83 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. GBU-12 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer.
GBU-10 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-10 Paveway is capable of carrying a warhead weighing up to 428 kg with a total curb weight of 1,162 kg.
The GBU-10 Paveway was developed and manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional Mk. 84. Modernization of the Mk. 84 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. GBU-10 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer. Two generations of these bombs appeared in the course of production. He represents the first GBU-10A / B Paveway I , the second is the GBU-10E / B and F / B Paveway II. The difference - apart from the design of the fins - is primarily that the Paveway II has a homing head that is cheaper to produce and more sensitive, which increases its accuracy and effectiveness. The main carriers of these bombs are the F-111 and F-15 E Strike Eagle planes. In addition, it can be carried by, among others: F-16 Fighting Falcon or F / A-18 Hornet. In the course of Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991 bombs GBU-10 Paveway showed 76% effectiveness in hitting targets.
GBU-12 Paveway is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. Its first prototypes appeared in the first half of the 1970s, and it was used by the US armed forces in 1976 and remains there to this day. GBU-12 is capable of carrying explosives (Tritonal and PBNX) weighing up to 87 kg with a total empty weight of 230 kg.
The GBU-12 Paveway was developed and manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, based on the traditional Mk. 82 with a weight of 227 kilograms. Modernization of the Mk. 82 consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons correcting the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. GBU-12 requires highlighting with a laser target pointer. Two generations of these bombs appeared in the course of production. He represents the first GBU-12 Paveway I , the second is the GBU-12 Paveway II. The difference - apart from the design of the fins - is primarily that the Paveway II has a homing head that is cheaper to produce and more sensitive, which increases its accuracy and effectiveness. The main carrier of these bombs is the F-111 plane. In addition, it can be carried by, among others: F-15 Strike Eagle, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcon or F / A-18 Hornet. In the course of Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991 bombs GBU-12 Paveway showed 88% effectiveness in hitting targets.
GBU-24 Paveway III is a modern American laser guided aerial bomb. It is capable of carrying explosives (H-6) weighing up to 429 kg, with a total curb weight of up to 1085 kg. The unit cost of the bomb in 2001 was estimated at $ 55,600 (USD).
The GBU-24 Paveway was developed from the traditional Mk. 84 with a weight of 909 kg or a special penetrating bomb BLU-109. The modernization of both types of bombs consisted in adding a special head guiding the laser beam and ailerons to correct the fall of the bomb. The first element was originally developed by Texas Instruments, which later became part of Raytheon. In the course of serial production, three models of this bomb were created. The first is the GBU-24 / B, which is based on the Mk.84 bomb. The second model is the GBU-24A / B, which was based on the BLU-109 bomb. The third version is the GBU-24B / B, which is still based on the BLU-109 penetration bomb, but uses a much more perfect and sensitive homing component. GBU-24 bombs can be carried by, among others: F-16 C / D Fighting Falcon, F-15 E Strike Eagle or F / A-18 Hornet.
The AGM-65 Maverick is a modern American air-to-ground or air-to-water missile. Its first prototypes appeared in the mid-1960s, and the missile was produced in 1972-1999. The AGM-65 is a solid-fuel missile with a range of up to 27 kilometers, capable of carrying a warhead weighing from 56 to 135 kg, and its total mass - depending on the version - from 208 to 302 kg.
The AGM-65 Maverick was developed to replace the AGM-12 Bullpup missiles. Hughes and Raytheon were responsible for its development. The new missile had a better range than its predecessor, was less reliable, and in later versions it also used a more effective guidance system. Several versions of this missile were created in the course of serial production. The first, produced on a large scale, was the AGM-65A model, which was still guided via a television link, and its actual effective range was very limited. In 1975, the AGM-65B version with a modified guidance system entered service. In the next version - AGM-65D - infrared guidance has already been used. In turn, in the AGM-65E missile, the weight of the warhead increased significantly (from 56 to 135 kilograms). Missiles of this type were or are used by many American aircraft, including: A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II, F-4 Phantom, F-15 E Strike Eagle or F / A-18 Hornet. In addition to the US armed forces, AGM-65 missiles have been or are used by Great Britain, South Korea, Germany and Sweden.